Cannabis Environmental Impact Report

The County is preparing a Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to study the potential environmental impacts of the Socially Equitable Cannabis Program as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Staff is working with consultants from Ascent Environmental, Inc. to prepare the EIR.

What is CEQA?

CEQA (pronounced “SEE-kwuh”), is a state law created in 1970. It requires all California state and local public agencies to study the potential significant environmental impacts of a proposed project prior to approval.

The objectives of CEQA are to:

• Disclose potential significant environmental impacts
• Identify ways to avoid or reduce significant environmental impacts
• Prevent environmental damage by requiring implementation of feasible alternatives or mitigation measures
• Foster interagency coordination and public participation
• Show that the agency is considering environmental implications of actions prior to making decisions

Click on the CEQA Training Video link for an overview of CEQA for community members and stakeholders.

Purpose of an EIR

If a proposed project has potential to cause one or more significant environmental impacts, CEQA requires an agency to prepare an EIR.

The purpose of an EIR is to:

• Inform the public about a project's potential significant environmental impacts and ways the lead agency can potentially avoid, minimize, reduce, or mitigate for them
• Demonstrate that the environment is being considered prior to approving the project and that the agency has considered the environmental implications of its actions
• Ensure prevention of environmental damage by requiring implementation of feasible alternatives or mitigation measures

How Do I Get Involved?

The CEQA process is expected to be a multi-year process and there will be multiple opportunities for public participation as the County prepares the EIR. Information on engagement opportunities will be posted to this page, when available.

We encourage you to also:

• Stay informed by reviewing the information on this site
• Share information with your communities
• Participate in the engagement tools on this site
• Contribute to the conversations at meetings
• Review and comment on draft ordinances when available
• Ask questions

To subscribe to the Cannabis Program email notification list, select “Stay Informed” (on the right for webpage users or scroll down for mobile users).